Looking Forward, a new vision for the 2012-13 winter season

I am truly excited to take on my new role and responsibilities at Killington Resort and Pico Mountain as President and General Manager. In an effort to improve communication with all Killington/Pico stakeholders, I wanted to share my vision through a blog and continue to write blog posts regarding the resort’s progress on that vision.

While I am new to this position, I have been with the company for 12 years and my executive team has an average of 21 years of ski resort experience. All but one of my team members has over 15 years’ experience at Killington and Pico; we know the resorts well and understand what makes them so great.

Powdr Corp., based in Park City, Utah, is Killington and Pico’s parent company, as well as a holding company of mountain resort and action sports companies. Powdr is a privately held, family owned business with a decentralized approach to resort management. Simply put, decisions on how to run the resort are left to the local management team and Powdr’s main influence relates to capital allocation. Therefore, I take full responsibility for any decisions made moving forward at our resorts. One of my goals is to balance the variety of priorities that are important to our guests’ experience on and off the mountain. Although it’s tough to please everyone, I hope that explaining the business reason behind the choices we make will help our guests understand our strategy and thought process.

First, I would like to review some items from the past. Last year was one of the most challenging winter seasons on record, but we were able to open on October 29 for daily operations and provide some of the best skiing and riding in the region. Tropical storm Irene hit us hard, and we have rebuilt and improved the resort. Last year, over $8 million was spent on our capital investments including the removal of the original Peak Lodge and rebuilding after Irene with the installation of the Roaring Brook Umbrella Bars and deck. Additionally, several hundred new low energy snow guns were purchased. We have invested over $25 million in the last five years in our resorts and have another $10 million in investment planned for next year, highlighted by the completion of the Peak Lodge in December of 2013.

Our resorts were built at a time when the sport was seeing significant revenue growth, which allowed us to operate the resorts profitably. Times have changed, and we operate in an extremely competitive and capital intensive business. We have spent the past few years restructuring the company and trying different strategies to make us more efficient and more profitable. This is important because our business model allows us to invest all our local profits directly into capital investment thus improving our resorts.

With tough economic times and our focus on efficiencies, at times we lost sight of what has made Killington great. Our approach moving forward will focus on bringing back the best of Killington and truly live up to our name, “The Beast”. Killington is the biggest mountain resort with the most extensive and varied terrain, offering more snowmaking horsepower, more snowmaking coverage, and more lifts than just about anyone else in the East. These are the superlatives that describe who we are and what we do best. We need to regain that swagger that allowed us to have bragging rights in almost every measurable category of operation. Look for us to return to the roots and essence of whom and what we are.

In that regard, I will focus on the changes we are planning as we move forward:

Season Length

We are committed to providing the longest on-snow season as possible, after all that’s The Nature of The Beast. This means we will open early and stay open late. While our focus will not be on "being the first to open," we will be more aggressive than in prior years to get open as soon as possible. Our snowmaking team is on high alert and will begin to make snow as soon as we have a good window of weather opportunity. In addition, we understand that our guests love Killington in the spring and we are committing to staying open until we can no longer provide a quality product.

Make this place fun again

In today's business climate, insurance concerns and business risks can sometimes drive businesses to make decisions that are not always guest focused. Killington has let this happen in certain circumstances and sometimes become too corporate in instituting new policies. We understand that our guests are coming to our resorts as a release from their normal lives and want to enjoy the outdoors and have a great time. One change that we hope will help move us in this new direction is to bring back the Bear Mountain Mogul Challenge (BMMC):

This was an event that made Killington famous. Over time, various rules and restrictions slowly killed this event. I bear responsibility for many of these changes as I was part of the management team that slowly instituted many new restrictions on the event.

As a part of the NOR’BEASTER, a ten-day event to kick off the spring season, we will bring back the BMMC this year. The goal is to return the festivities to the way they were in the past while being able to follow all VT Laws.

8:30 a.m. opening on weekends

As many of you know we have decided to open on weekends and holidays at 8:30 a.m. This decision was made based on the fact that there are many operational issues with opening early and many of our competitors are moving in this direction.

We have heard different opinions on this decision from various groups of stakeholders. Even though the 2012-13 Killington Trail Guide has gone to print with the 8:30 a.m. opening, we have decided to be responsive to our guests and make a change to our morning operation time:

We will continue with the plan to open operations at 8:30 a.m. on weekends and peak days, but we will open the K-1 Express Gondola at 8:00 a.m. giving guests who want to start early, access to the main part of the mountain with the most varied skiing, while allowing us to continue to groom the rest of the mountain for the 8:30 a.m. opening.

There will still be a commitment to many other areas that have made our resorts great such as racing programs, snowboard and ski events, seeded moguls, parks and pipes and a major focus of bringing more beginners into our sport.

For those with local ties, look for us to roll out plans that describe how we intend to drive these initiatives of growth in more detail in meetings and presentations that my team will be doing this fall. This includes home owner association, Chamber and other civic organizations meetings.

Your Comments

posted by
rickon October 14, 2013 11:08 AM EDT

Welcome. I think it is very important to remember what terrain seperates Killington from other mountains and keep focused on maintaing quality snow conditions on the expert terrain.I also think that there should be more upkeep on the tree skiing areas as they have suffered from lack of trimming and cutting of major downed trees.

The econmics of staffing many lifts is understandable BUT to have the Canyon Chair etc run only some days does not make you a serious resort .

As a season passholder, I was extermelly excited to see a renewed focus on the issues that are of great concern to Killington's core skiers/snowboarders. After all, the core group of customers are the ones whom will come in both the good years and bad years. I now feel like we are not the neglected customer group --- impressive start in such a short time. With all of the changes to re-emphasize Killington's past initiatives and events, is Killington considering bringing back any other initiatives from the past such as the Killington club card? Years back, when Killington had the club card, in my experience it was a lot easier to get members of my local ski club to come up to Killington on a regular basis (especially, with the option to re-load the club cards). Alternatively, has Killington considering follow other mountains leads (such as Stratton's express card) to include a "free" day of skiing with the purchase of an Express card?

OK so far so Awesome. I would say the next step in promoting good pr is to un ban all the people that were banned from facebook for speaking there mind about the way things were being run. Thses are all the people that truly love the old fun Killington.

Well the early pass holder apreciation skiing was off the Hook! Thank You the is the kind of leadership Killington deserves to have back again. Keep up the good attitude and good work like this and Killington will once again be the King of the East.

I have been skiing Killington since 1978 and have always thought of it as a skier's mountain. It felt like a skiing home and the best parts of the year was the feeling of an entire ski community loving the fact that we would try to open first and best, and stay open the absolute longest. I don't know what it took financially to do these things, but to skiers who make Killington their home mountain it is all the difference. Ski Bum races, the BMMC, events that draw local crowds because locals are in them, and national crowds because the best are in them, are necessary to bring that feeling back. As my crowd has always said (from boston/cape cod) "We ski until we die" and we will do it at Killington!!

Happy to see the Mogul competition coming back. I miss the living rooms that the die hards set up at lower Outer Limits. It was a fun lively time.Not sure why 8 am was discontinued. We opened most of the mountain at 8 AM on weekends and holidays in the past. Glad to have back the 8 am Gondola opening. Also would like to see Snowshed and Ramshead opened before Thanksgiving (Weather permitting).And given the lack of snow---Killington did an awesome job last year. I hope we have a good snow year without predictions.Thanks for the great update.

This all sounds great and I am certainly interested in your mention of a longer season. For me as a local pass holder for over 20 years the spring skiing is what I miss the most about the "old Killington". The days of late season skiing have dwindled and instead of looking forward to a May and early June closing we find ourselves looking at April at best. With the ever increasing pass prices it would be nice to get a longer season back in return.

It's certainly good to read that Killington is listening to its' customers. It is also good that they are attempting to better communicate. Now if they will only stop their recent practice of re-naming trails??????????

Love the shift in attitude and commitment to your guests. I Uly believe this will pay off over time for all. If the early start does create the need to open a second lift I strongly suggest that the bear mt peak quad be considered. It provides ability to spread it the parking, which is an issue at KBL and provides skiers with more options for skiing and riding.

I believe one key to your success at providing a great skier experience is to provided environment of choices and not overcrowding your facilities and trails.

just the fact that you're willing to communicate is a big step forward. loving that you want to make "the beast" more than just a marketing slogan and realize the value of the things like the longer season and the bmmc.

Wow is all I can say! This is the best news coming from Killington since Powdr took over. The on-mountain improvements have been great over the past few years and you are listening to your customers. Well done and good luck in your new role, you've certainly started off on the right foot!

Mike: The announcement of your selection as the new President and GM was met in some circles with groans. The financial guy! A bean counter! Oh crap! We want an operations guy! However, reading your blog has put those fears to rest. You clearly have a deep love for Killington and what made it great and your goal to restore The Beast to its proper position at the top of eastern ski resorts is an exciting breath of fresh air. Thank you for restoring the 8 AM opening to the gondola because that was a real issue for some of us. Your responce to protests of an 8:30 opening indicates true customer service.I would also like to address changes at Pico. My kids, like many in Rutland, grew up skiing at Pico. The previous Academic Excellence Program went from honor roll to only high honors and not all my kids were high honor students.Your decision to offer a $75 Pico pass to all K-12 Vermonters shows an awareness that the industry must bring in new skiers and (God forbid) riders and this is an excellent move in that direction. Many Rutland kids and families will benefit from this major focus of bringing more beginners into our sport.You're off to a great start. Let it snow!

Finally!! Thank you, Michael. As a hardcore, long time Big K skier, this attitude change by Sr. Management at Powder Corp. is refreshing. I hope you follow through and bring K back to the great mountain it used to be. Bringing the BMMC back is a great start as well as increased snow making and a long season is what your die hard regulars have been hoping for. I was thinking about leaving the Big K this year, after 20 plus seasons, and heading up to the Bush, but your Blog has made me reconsider!

I've been skiing the BIG K for many years. It's great to hear that you have, "WE THE PEOPLE" who support you in mind. As the head of Public Relations for NJ Ski & Snowboard Council I am thrilled that Killington has forward thinking people like you at its helm. A number of NJ Ski Council member clubs have Vt. lodges and make Killington their home mountain. I can assure that I will spread the word to Council Clubs that THE BEAST is roaring back!

I like your tone, candor and vision. The Killington share house community will be particulalry stoked with your "make this place fun again" approach. My wishlist is in the obvious category, Snowden needs a faster lift. Good luck.

Opening the K1 gondola at 8 is great but its going to creat a long lift line every sat and sun morning because its the only lift to ski. Just like the old days at Killington, long lift lines.Why not also open the north ridge tripple (at 8) to move traffic from K1?

Sounds great! Any thoughts about a new South Ridge lift? Really love being able to ski the area without going all the way to the bottom of Bear Mtn. (also getting to the Canyon area across the TOP of the Mtn.)

What's the status on the Southridge chair? Being able to bang off the back of Bear and drop back into the Canyon on crowded afternoons was a great way to avoid the lift lines and actually spend your time skiing.Your comments made me feel very good about the upcoming season. Thanks.

Thank you for the update. I am a long time season pass holder. Over the past few years I have watched the "regulars" go from a positive frame of mind to a negative. It has been sad. I would bet this feeling trickles down to the "not so regular" customer as well. I think this new direction is great and it should get everybody excited about our mountain again! Thanks!!

Great to hear!! I've been skiing Killington since I was a kid (40 years ago), and it has definitely lost some of the 'feel' that it used to have. With my two little guys now following in my tracks, it great to hear that there is an intention to return a bit to that 'feel' so that they can experience it.

A suggestion as well; My kids are continually asking to learn how to ski the terrain parks, and to learn 'tricks', but to my knowledge, there are no Killington programs to teach this kind of stuff, I think there would be solid demand for such a program, for both kids ann adults alike, looking to broaden their skiing skills....

Really nice update on the future direction. What would also be nice to hear is what's beyond 2013 and the new Peak Lodge, where are you regarding the Act 250 review process for the New Killington Villiage and plans to interconnect to Pico?

All great news. In recent years the focus seemed to be on the younger clientele. Going forward please keep in mind your more mature clients and the events that we loved. Bringing back the BMMC is a great first step!

8:00 opening of the K-1 is Wonderful!!This will allow those of us who live in Killington East the ability to once again ski the KSC for its training programs. As another entryway to the mountain it will decrease congestion on the Access Rd. and parking.

Hi Mike - Killington is always and has been a great host to the PSIA / AASI Snowsports Managment Seminar that I went to. I look forward every other year to go to your resort. Keep up the great hospetality.

Thank you Mike for reaching out and letting us know what your plans are going forward. That alone is a giant step in the right direction as far as communicating with your customers. This blog post has already addresses many of my concerns/gripes since POWDR purchased the resort.

Thank you Mike! As a long term Killington pass holder, I certainly appreciate your vision and candor. In a single blog entry you've addressed my only major concerns left when POWDR took over operations at Killington. Here's to a great upcoming season and hoping all your goals are well implemented this year and years to come. Again, thank you and best of luck in your new position!

I second JB's request to run at least one other lift from either Snowshed or Rams Head so that people utilizing The Bus can access the mountain (and training programs at KSC) without having to drive to KBL and take valuable parking.

Thank you for taking the initiative in listening to your customers and providing communications behind your decision making progress. I'm sure I speak for most here in that we're all looking forward to this new direction!

Music to my ears. This is an attitude and strategy that I can support with good word of mouth to any potential Killington customer that I come across. My ski club will hear of this tonight and the public word will spread quickly, just in time to energize people for the new season.